Clutch & Crown Realty - Jenn DeLorean

09/10/2026

🏠 Waiting for home prices to crash? You may be waiting for the wrong thing.

One of the biggest misconceptions I still hear is:

"I'll buy when prices come back down."

But a slower housing market doesn't necessarily mean a cheaper housing market.

Fannie Mae's Home Price Expectations Survey pictured here projected continued national home-price appreciation through 2030 - just at a much slower, more sustainable pace than what we saw during the craziness of the pandemic years.

And that's an important distinction:

📉 Slower appreciation is not the same thing as depreciation.

A house going up 2% instead of 10% didn't get cheaper. It just got expensive more slowly.

That's why trying to perfectly "time" the housing market can backfire. If you're waiting several years for lower interest rates, but home values continue climbing while you wait, some or all of the savings from that lower rate can disappear into a higher purchase price.

Does that mean everyone should run out and buy a house today?

Absolutely not.

The right time to buy is when the numbers make sense for you - your income, your savings, your monthly payment, your plans, and your local market.

And remember: these are national projections, not promises, and this particular forecast was published in 2024. New Jersey - and even individual towns within New Jersey - can behave very differently from the national market.

So don't make a six-figure decision because somebody told you prices are definitely crashing.

And don't make one because somebody told you they're definitely skyrocketing, either.

Look at the numbers. Look at your market. Then make the decision that actually makes sense for you.

That's what I'm here for. 🤙🏻

Jenn DeLorean
Clutch & Crown Realty
Restoring Trust in Real Estate.

09/09/2026

CAN'T. WORK. 🫂

09/09/2026

A couple days ago, I picked on buyers.

Today, sellers - it's your turn.

It's not uncommon for sellers to sabotage their own home sale. Some don't negotiate in good faith, have unrealistic market expectations, and don't mind wasting their agent's time and money while simultaneously complaining that real estate agents make too much money.

Meanwhile, they're still paying taxes, utilities, insurance, home and yard maintenance - and God forbid something breaks before the sale. Now you're repairing it or potentially eating the cost somewhere in the transaction.

And the longer your home sits on the market, the more leverage buyers gain.

I will absolutely fight for every dollar I can get my sellers. I'll market the Hell out of a property. I'll negotiate. I'll strategize. I'll advocate.

But I cannot negotiate with reality itself.

And the reality is this:

Your house isn't worth what you paid for it.
It isn't worth what Zillow says.
It isn't worth what your neighbor got.
And it isn't worth what you need to walk away with.

It's worth what the competitive market is willing to pay for it right now.

So how do you find that number without pricing too high, sitting for months, chasing the market downward with price reductions, and handing negotiating leverage to buyers?

You make the market prove it.

That's exactly what my listing strategy is designed to do.

Instead of picking an aspirational number and waiting around hoping someone eventually agrees with us, I have a strategy designed to create competition, expose the property's true market demand, and find the highest price the market is willing to produce - while the seller remains in control of whether they're willing to sell.

No obligation to accept an offer just because one comes in. No pretending your house is worth less than it is. And no wasting months trying to discover something we can potentially learn much faster.

I'm not putting the entire playbook on Facebook - because my listing strategy is part of what my clients hire me for. 😉

But if your goal is to find out what buyers are actually willing to pay for your home - and give yourself the strongest opportunity to capture the top of that market -

that's what you hire me to do. 🤙🏻

Jenn DeLorean
Clutch & Crown Realty
Restoring Trust in Real Estate.

09/07/2026

🚨 MONDAY MADNESS: TRUE REAL ESTATE HORROR STORIES 💀

She went to work at a model home. Nearly 15 years later, police arrested someone for her murder.

On April 8, 2011, 27-year-old real estate agent Ashley Okland was working at a model townhouse in West Des Moines, Iowa.

It was the middle of the afternoon.

Shortly after 2 p.m., a woman in the neighboring townhouse reportedly heard two loud “thuds.”

Ashley had been shot twice at close range - once in the chest and once in the face.

She was later pronounced dead.

There was no arrest.

And for nearly 15 years, the case went cold.

Investigators interviewed hundreds of people and followed hundreds of tips, but the question remained:

Who killed Ashley Okland - and why?

Then, in March 2026, authorities announced an arrest.

A grand jury indicted Kristin Ramsey, 53, on a charge of first-degree murder.

And Ramsey wasn't some random stranger who had simply wandered into the model home.

She worked for Rottlund Homes - the company that owned the model home where Ashley was killed.

Then prosecutors revealed something the public hadn't known for all those years.

According to court documents, the woman in the neighboring townhouse who heard those two “thuds” allegedly looked outside afterward and saw Ramsey outside the model home.

The witness reportedly saw Ramsey pacing near her vehicle while talking on her phone.

Then, according to prosecutors, she watched Ramsey back her vehicle up quickly and drive away in an “erratic manner.”

The neighbor became concerned.

She went inside the model home.

And that's when she found Ashley.

But there's another strange detail:

According to the court filing, Ramsey allegedly returned to the area shortly afterward.

Prosecutors also allege that Ramsey gave investigators conflicting accounts about her whereabouts and the events of that day.

And the motive?

We still don't know.

Authorities have not publicly announced one.

Ramsey has pleaded not guilty, and her attorneys are challenging the prosecution's case, including the eyewitness evidence and the information presented to the grand jury. Her trial is currently scheduled for July 2027.

So after nearly 15 years, Ashley's family may finally get answers.

But until this case goes to trial, one enormous question remains:

What happened inside that model home on April 8, 2011?

⚠️ And for those of us in real estate, this one hits differently.

Vacant houses. Model homes. Open houses. Meeting strangers. Sitting alone in properties with the door wide open.

Those are completely ordinary parts of our jobs.

Until suddenly they're not.

****September is REALTOR® Safety Month. Please take it seriously.****

Your commission is never worth your life.

🏠🔪 MONDAY MADNESS: True Real Estate Horror Stories

Because sometimes the scariest thing inside a house isn't on the inspection report.

09/07/2026

Let's talk about loyalty. 🛡️

I generally don't work with buyers unless I know you, or can tell upfront that you're serious.

And THIS is a big reason why.

Imagine calling someone and asking them to work for you, and then saying in the same sentence, "But you're not going to be paid."

There are agents who will spend weeks or months with a buyer - answering questions, researching properties, writing offers, driving all over creation, and touring 10, 15, 20+ homes - without making a dime unless that buyer eventually closes.

And then one Saturday, their agent isn't available.

So the buyer goes to an open house, meets another agent, likes them, and suddenly THAT agent is writing the offer.

Or they call the listing agent directly because they think they'll somehow get a better deal.

Or they start calling random Zillow agents to open doors because their own agent can't drop everything that afternoon.

Meanwhile, the person who has spent months working for them gets.... *drumroll* nothing!

That's the part of this business consumers rarely see.

Everyone complains that real estate agents get paid too much. What you don't see is how much time and money agents spend on people they never get paid for - and eventually, those costs have to be absorbed somewhere.

Hire the agent who does the best job for you. You absolutely should.

But once you've found that person, have some loyalty to the person who's been showing up for you. And understand that having other clients doesn't mean your agent doesn't value your business.

And to my current buyer clients:
I LOVE YOU. DON'T EVER CHANGE. 🫶🏻

09/07/2026

Me: Hey, Chat. Create an image based on everything I've ever complained to you about Route 18. And include easter eggs of this list of grievances from local residents.

Chat: Creates fantastic image.

Me: Wait.... include my biggest fear as a motorcycle rider on Route 18.

Chat: Creates below image.

Me: JACKPOT.

09/07/2026

A friendly Labor Day reminder to every business owner:

Your employees are hitting the grind every day building your business.

They serve your customers. They protect your reputation. They solve problems you may never even hear about. They give you their time, their skills, and a pretty significant portion of their lives - and the success of your business is built, in no small part, on their labor.

Remember that this Labor Day. 🔧

Pay people fairly. Respect their time. Recognize their contributions. Treat them like human beings - not numbers on a payroll report.

Yes, businesses need profits to survive.

But people create those profits.

Build a business people are proud to help build.

People over profits. Every time.

Happy Labor Day to everyone out there putting in the work. 🇺🇸

09/07/2026

Oh man, this was the first brokerage I worked for when I first got my Arizona real estate license. 🤣

Should've taped his mouth shut.

The slur-spewing plane passenger who was duct taped and zip-tied to his seat after a mid-flight meltdown has been identified as an Arizona realtor.

09/06/2026

Who's going to this?

I was busy all weekend - if you went to the show, post your pics below!

SPECTATOR PARKING NOTICE!!! ATTENTION ALL SPECTATORS: PARKING FOR FRIDAY/SATURDAY & SUNDAY IS AT 290 DAVIDSON AVE. Here is the map to our Spectator lot, 290 Davidson Ave.(SHI building) with shuttles running constantly. Last years parking is unavailable due to the buildings being torn down. THIS IS T...

09/04/2026

🎆 East Brunswick Fireworks This Weekend!

Looking for something local to do Saturday night?

East Brunswick is wrapping up summer with its Summer Grand Finale & America 250 Celebration at the Community Arts Center on Cranbury Road.

The evening includes food trucks, family activities, live music, a cooking demonstration, the East Brunswick Symphony Orchestra, an America 250 tribute - and fireworks to finish the night.

📍 East Brunswick Community Arts Center
📅 Saturday, September 5
⏰ Festivities begin at 6 PM
🎆 Fireworks after the evening program
🌧️ Rain date: Sunday, September 6

One last summer night before we admit fall is coming. 🍂😂

Save it, share it, and tag somebody who needs weekend plans!